GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS & EYE OF TIGER MANAGEMENT SIGN DAVID LEMIEUX

LAS VEGAS – Golden Boy Promotions alongside Eye of the Tiger Management held an intimate roundtable at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to discuss the recent signing of David Lemieux (33-2, 31 KOs) to Golden Boy Promotions. The impressive middleweight contender Lemieux, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya, Future Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Promotions PartnerBernard Hopkins, President of Eye of the Tiger Management Camille Estephan, and Senior Vice President of Golden Boy Promotions Eric Gomez were all in attendance.

The hard-hitting Montreal native’s next bout was confirmed to be broadcasted on HBO and Lemieux expressed his interest in fighting the best in the middleweight division. Below is what the Montreal native, his promoters and his management had to say:

DAVID LEMIEUX,Middleweight Contender

“I have put in the work. What you saw in Brooklyn was only 50 percent of what I can do and I feel like I can be a lot better. I want to show that in my next fight.

“I fear no man, I want to go after the top of the food chain. Oscar and Bernard came up fighting the best and I am of the same mind.

“Canelo is a younger, hungrier fighter. He is explosive. He is a tough fighter and it would be a good match up.

“Everyone is on the list. I want to fight the best.

“The reason I started so young was because I was a trouble maker. I was fighting in the streets. My neighbor was a boxer and he told me to come fight real fighters. I got my ass kicked a few times but I fell in love with it.

“We want to make a good run at 160 and then think about moving up in weight.

“I have always liked power punchers and I respect others’ styles and other champions, but I never mimic them.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions

“We are exploring every option. We can go to Montreal, we can go back to New York City, we can come to Las Vegas; that’s the beauty of David. He can fight anywhere and people will come out to watch him.

“He’s still growing. We haven’t seen his full potential which is very exciting. He has explosiveness and power.

“We will be working hand and hand with Eye of the Tiger Management. We are partners and we want the best fights, the best deals. We will be working together in the best interest for David.

“A future fight with Canelo is possible. Canelo wants to fight the best. Lemieux wants to fight the best. For now we want to focus on 160-pounds weight class and on Cotto, Andy lee and Golovkin.”

“We got this guy [Lemieux], he is tough. I know Gabriel Rosado and he handled him easily. I know what I am looking at. I have an eye for talent and he has it.

“We are going to continue and show you that we will put on the best fights and give the fans quality. I’m in it to make the best fights. The ratings speak for themselves. The fans speak for themselves. Judge us by the quality of the matches you see and don’t get caught up in the ‘feelings’ of it.

“I want to put a call out to everyone, that is how Oscar was brought up, that is how I was brought up, fighting the best.

“Three things about David: one, he signed with Golden Boy Promotions; two, he has talent in many ways, not only is he a fan favorite he is a good defensive fighter; three, he has good looks.

“I am seeing now the molding of another legacy, his legacy. But at the end of the day he has an opportunity in the middle weight division, I am glad to be here with a middleweight who I feel already has a lot of respect.

CAMILLE ESTEPHAN, President of Eye of the Tiger Management

“Canelo is on the list. Cotto is on the list. Golovkin is on the list. Andy Lee is on the list. Everyone is on the list.

“I definitely think he is the most popular boxer, the numbers prove it. He has a lot of potential and the sky is the limit.

“I got a call yesterday from someone in the boxing world about how exciting it is to be working with Golden Boy and he said ‘David is like a sunshine that beams on the world of boxing’ and it is very heartwarming. It’s heartwarming to sit down with Oscar, Bernard and Eric, whom I have gotten to know very well since the Rosado fight. This is great group of people and I think that we can build something together that will make a huge impact in the boxing world.

“David is the one guy, that as soon as I saw him the first time in the gym, the first sit-up he did and the last sit-up he did were exactly the same, he doesn’t cheat. He has the ultimate confidence because he doesn’t cheat himself and I have the ultimate respect for him. I am very proud of him as a person.

ERIC GOMEZ, Senior Vice President of Golden Boy Promotions

“After the Rosado fight, Lemieux was impressive and we began talks with Camille. People love David and it made sense. David has an exciting style.

“We are looking at HBO, the ratings against Rosado were some of the best all year. They are very excited about David.”

In an action fight against his fiercest pro opponent yet, Jose Ramirez rose to the occasion and claimed a vacant junior welterweight belt Saturday night, outpointing Amir Imam by unanimous decision in the Top Rank ESPN main event.

Oleksandr "The Nail" Gvozdyk spent most of the fight with Mehdi Amar nailing him with an assortment of combinations to claim a vacant interim light heavyweight world title, and Michael Conlan scored an impressive KO victory to stay unbeaten.

Bob Arum and Don King, the most prominent promoters in boxing history, have butted heads for decades. But they are friendly rivals these days and enjoy talking over old times and telling their war stories.

Floyd Mayweather says he will begin training "soon" for a transition into mixed martial arts and that he already has been in contact with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley about working together in the near future.

Isaac Dogboe's father, Paul, apologized for his remarks aimed at his son's opponent, Jessie Magdaleno, in which he said his son would throw the Mexican descendant "over the wall of Mexico and present the title to Donald Trump."

Gennady Golovkin was in disbelief when Canelo Alvarez tested positive for a banned substance. Along with Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez, they used the word "disappointment," not about Alvarez, but his team.

Golden Boy and Top Rank have signed a deal for Jorge Linares to defend his 135-pound crown against Vasyl Lomachenko, who will move up from 130 pounds, on May 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York, sources said.

Oscar Valdez kept his belt against Scott Quigg but paid a high price for it as the Mexican featherweight champion had to have his jaw wire shut days after Saturday's bloody fight. Valdez's manager said it was unclear as to when he'd be back in the ring.

Mikey Garcia won a world title in his fourth weight class with his victory over Sergey Lipinets and must now decide which direction he wants to go with a number of potential opponents at different weight classes on his radar.